Mother found shot to death on I-75 had been a witness against ex-boyfriend in groping case

Hours before Jennie Scavone was found shot to death on Interstate 75 in Detroit, the father of one of her children entered a guilty plea to a sex charge involving a juvenile relative in a case in which Scavone was a complaining witness.

Does that make him a person of interest in Scavone's slaying?

Michigan State Police said that is a possible scenario on their radar, but stopped short of providing specifics as the investigation continues.

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"We're narrowing things down, but I think the investigation is moving along," said Lt. Michael Shaw.

Scavone, 32, of Sterling Heights, was attacked on her way home from her job as a server at Bouzouki, a nightclub in the Greektown neighborhood, early Saturday. A state courtesy patrol driver discovered her inside of her bullet-riddled GMC Yukon SUV with the engine idling about 3:40 a.m. Saturday on northbound I-75 near Mack.

Shaw said detectives are interviewing Scavone's current fiance, along with other family members and friends as part of the probe. He said police do not believe the shooting was tied to her job at Bouzouki.

An autopsy completed Sunday listed the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

Josef Zbercot, the father of one of Scavone's sons, was in Erie County Common Pleas Court on Friday to enter a plea in a case where he was charged with assaulting an 11-year-old relative and forcing the child to grope him during a 2012 trip to Cedar Point amusement park.

According to the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office, Zbercot had been drinking beer, vodka and Jagermeister during a trip to a bowling alley with the minor relative. When they returned to the hotel they were staying at, Zbercot began wrestling with the child and forced the youngster to grope him.

Zbercot entered a guilty plea to the charge but won't be formally sentenced until March, according to the Sandusky Register newspaper. He agreed to serve 60 days in jail, be placed on probation and register as a tier II sex offender. The court had also imposed a no contact order forbidding Zbercot from seeing the child. He remains free on bond until his sentencing.

Scavone was listed as a complaining witness in the case.

In a separate matter, Scavone and Zbercot had been locked in a contentious decade-long child custody case in Macomb County Circuit Court over the son he fathered with her. She has another son with her fiance of four years.

Court records show there were issues over child support, parenting time, and grandparents parenting time. Zbercot had a motion to hold Scavone in contempt for allegedly not adhering to a court order and Scavone had motions to suspend or terminate his parental rights. They were last in court in late January and due back in early March.

Scavone's attorney, Lori Finazzo, did not return a phone call for comment.

Zbercot declined to comment at his parent's house, according to his father, John Zbercot.

A native of Roseville, Scavone was described as a dedicated mother of her two boys who was in love with her fiance. She and her fiance, along with the children, had recently moved into a house in Sterling Heights.

Photographs posted on her Facebook page show her with her fiance and the boys roller skating, visiting Disney World, and playing laser tag.

Jeremy Summers of Flat Rock, who used to work with Scavone, described her as "an amazing person."

"There wasn't anything bad about that girl," Summers said Sunday. "When she smiled, it was like a big hug from your grandma and your mom, she had that kind of warmth."